Technology

• Bots now dominate the threat landscape for travel platforms during peak booking periods
• Fake demand created by bots leads to inflated prices and fewer options for real users
• SMS pumping attacks are draining funds and delaying key notifications for travelers

As summer travel hits its peak, a new concern is emerging that has little to do with rising fuel costs or demand-driven pricing.

A growing volume of automated traffic is now being blamed for driving up flight prices, disrupting bookings, and damaging the experience for travelers, experts have warned.

The 2025 Thales Bad Bot Report claims the travel sector accounted for 27% of all bot-related activity globally last year, making it the most targeted industry.

Travel sector emerges as the top target for automated bot attacks

The report outlines several ways bots are interfering with online travel platforms.

One key issue is “seat spinning,” where bots initiate the booking process but do not complete payment - by hoarding inventory temporarily, they reduce availability and may create a false perception of scarcity, which can influence pricing algorithms.

In some cases, bots resell the tickets they secure through “ticket scalping,” pushing genuine customers toward inflated prices or unavailable flights.

These attacks also exploit messaging systems through what is known as “SMS pumping," which involves triggering high volumes of text messages to premium-rate numbers, increasing costs for companies and potentially delaying important customer notifications.

“Bad bots aren’t just causing chaos online anymore, they’re hijacking holidays,” said Tim Ayling, cybersecurity specialist at Thales.

“Right now, travel websites are being overwhelmed by bots pretending to be real customers, snapping up tickets, scraping prices, and slowing everything down.”

As more transactions shift to mobile, the problem has become more visible, particularly for last-minute travelers relying on real-time updates.

The bots themselves are becoming easier to deploy, and there is a surge in simpler, more accessible bots, often driven by AI-based tools.

These are not the domain of sophisticated hackers alone. Low-skilled actors can now use basic scripts or free proxy setups to bypass traditional security.

Even the use of VPN and proxy services, typically associated with privacy, is sometimes manipulated to mask malicious traffic, giving bots the appearance of legitimate users accessing from different regions.

Another emerging problem is the targeting of APIs, which power search results, pricing engines, and loyalty programs.

Nearly half of all advanced bot attacks now focus on these areas, and they can interfere with backend functions, slowing down entire websites or even causing them to crash.

Attackers also use advanced techniques to mimic genuine human behavior, making it harder for traditional defenses to detect and block harmful traffic.

Methods such as CAPTCHA, once effective, are no longer reliable, often frustrating real users more than bots.

“Traditional defenses just aren’t cutting it. Travel companies need a smarter, layered approach, blocking credential stuffing attacks and securing vulnerable areas like logins and checkouts through continuous testing and threat monitoring.”

In a digital environment where automation now surpasses human web traffic, the challenge facing airlines and travel sites is less about visibility and more about precision.

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Your Messages app can perform equations and conversions with ease.

• Public transit routes are buggy on Google Maps
• It seems to be affecting some but not all users
• Google hasn't yet made any comment on the issue

Millions of us rely on Google Maps to get from A to B every day, so when something goes wrong with the app it can cause a serious headache – as seems to have happened with a new bug that affects searching for public transit directions.

As noted by Android Police, a lengthy thread on Reddit documents the experiences of many users who are seeing the Google Maps app for Android crash when they search for public transit directions to a direction.

It's difficult to assess just how widespread the problem is at the moment: the Android Police team was able to replicate the bug on one of their phones, but it's not an issue I'm seeing on my own Google Pixel 9 at the moment.

What's certain is that it's frustrating for those people who are seeing it, leaving them unable to use Google Maps to plot a route to their destination. As yet, Google hasn't said anything officially about the problem or a potential fix.

What you can try

Switching to incognito mode could help (Image credit: Future)

With no word from Google yet – and I'll update this article if there is – users are really left sitting and waiting for a fix. It sounds as though the issue has hit multiple Android phones, including those made by Google, Samsung, and Poco.

From the Reddit thread, it seems that putting Google Maps into incognito mode might help. You can do this by tapping your Google account avatar inside the app (top right), then choosing Turn on Incognito mode from the menu.

This apparently fixes the problem, though your searches and journeys obviously won't be saved in your Google account. It also suggests that the problem might be something to do with the way Google Maps is syncing to accounts.

It might also be worth your while checking out some of the alternative public transit apps available on Android, such as Citymapper and Moovit. There's also Apple Maps too of course, but this bug doesn't seem to affect Google Maps for iOS.

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The Devil Wears Prada 2: key information

- Filming began in July 2024 after the 2013 sequel script was shelved
- Releasing May 1, 2026, no trailer yet
- Production began on June 30, 2025
- Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci are all returning
- Kenneth Branagh, Simone Ashley, Lucy Liu, and Justin Theroux among newbies cast
- Plot follows Miranda Priestly's career decline as she faces off against Emily Charlton's luxury ad business

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is officially a go. Almost two decades after the release of the original movie, the sequel is actually happening.

I don't mean to be a hater, but Vanessa Williams keeping the IP alive through a musical just isn't cutting it for me. If you were a fellow tween in the 2000s, Disney's The Devil Wears Prada was one of the cinematic moments of the decade. You know all of Miranda Priestly's (Meryl Streep) iconic lines by heart, you watched the infamous Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) outfit transition scene more than you did your homework, and for the only time ever, you hated Emily Blunt because of her character (Emily Charlton).

I know, I can hear you saying: "why do we need another sequel of a by-gone classic that likely won't be as good?" I might be ever the optimist, but I firmly believe that this is the sequel that could end up being one of the best new movies of the decade.

Why? The original cast is all returning, the plot seems genuinely solid and the behind-the-scenes photos already prove that the outfits are as iconic as they were 20 years ago. Add to this the inevitable A-list cameos that will be coming our way, and we've got what has the making of an unmissable hit on our hands. I'm already so seated that I'm 10 months early, but thankfully we already know a lot about what The Devil Wears Prada 2 has in store.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 release date

The infamous cerulean belt scene in The Devil Wears Prada. (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

It's official! The Devil Wears Prada 2 will be released on May 1, 2026. Amazingly, this is one weekend before the MET Gala, though it's pretty clear which will actually be the fashion event of the season. It's like we'll see some crossover here too, with the cast attending in or out of character amazing PR for the sequel.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 trailer: is there one?

It might feel as though all of these set clips are good enough to make a full trailer themselves, but alas, there is no The Devil Wears Prada 2 trailer as of writing.

The movie went into production on June 30, 2025, which means filming has only just begun, so we're a way off of seeing any footage yet. While we've got no way of knowing when production is supposed to wrap, we can guess that a trailer won't make itself unknown until at least early 2026.

The Devil Wears Prada 2: confirmed cast

Anne Hathaway (Andy) and Emily Blunt (Emily) in The Devil Wears Prada. (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

It wouldn’t be The Devil Wears Prada without the charismatic and electric quartet of Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci, who will all be returning for the sequel. We also have a confirmed new co-stars with Kenneth Branagh, Simone Ashley, Lucy Liu, and Justin Theroux. Plus, an abundance of hidden cameos will likely come out of the woodwork as time goes on.

Here's the confirmed The Devil Wears Prada 2 cast so far:

• Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs
• Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly
• Emily Blunt as Emily Charlton
• Stanley Tucci as Nigel Kipling
• Tracie Thoms as Lily Ravitz
• Tibor Feldman as Irv Ravitz
• Kenneth Branagh as Miranda’s husband
• Patrick Brammal as Andy’s new love interest
• Simone Ashley
• Lucy Liu
• Justin Theroux
• B.J. Novak
• Pauline Chalamet
• Conrad Ricamora
• Helen J. Shen
• Caleb Hearon

Director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna, who worked on the original film, are also returning for the sequel, alongside producer Karen Rosenfelt.

Hathaway's co-star in The Idea of You Nicholas Galitzine previously spoke about wanting to work with her and Streep in the sequel. "Listen, if Annie’s down for it, if they want to do a sequel of The Devil Wears Prada, I’ll be someone," the actor said in Elle's 2024 Hollywood Rising issue. "I’ll be the assistant who runs and gets coffee for everyone." Whether anything actually came from his pleas, however, remains to be seen.

Adrian Grenier, who played Andy’s boyfriend, Nate, will not be returning for the sequel.

The Devil Wears Prada 2: story rumors

Anne Hathaway (Andy) in The Devil Wears Prada. (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

While Disney hasn't directly shared a synopsis for the sequel, Puck magazine reported: “The storyline being discussed focuses on Miranda Priestly, Streep’s Wintour-esque protagonist, at the end of her career, facing the decline of traditional magazine publishing. She’s forced to go head-to-head with her former assistant, Blunt’s Emily Charlton, now a high-powered executive at a Kering or LVMH-style luxury group, whose advertising dollars Priestly desperately needs.”

Of course, we know Hathaway's Andy is going to return too, but who Andy has grown up to be remains a mystery.

The sequel is likely to draw inspiration from the book Revenge Wears Prada, but with added elements not present in the original novel. In Revenge, Andy had recently turned 30 and was about to get married (we've seen a wedding ring on Hathaway's hand while filming). She'd become a successful magazine editor in her own right, working closely with her former Runway survivor Emily before Miranda re-enters her life.

It goes without saying that we all know Miranda is loosely based on Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, who has recently stepped down from her position after a 37-year tenure. If we'll see nods to this in the sequel remains to be seen, but giving how closely Wintour's exit times with filming, it's not impossible.

• Stream The Devil Wears Prada in the US on Disney+
• Stream The Devil Wears Prada in the UK on Disney+
• Stream The Devil Wears Prada in Australia on Disney+

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• iPhone chip performance has improved 385x since 2007 launch, according to benchmarks
• A17 and A18 chips in iPhone 16 models continue Apple’s efficient performance trend
• Next-gen iPhone could push CPU performance past 500x original iPhone processor

A new investigation from PC Watch has compared the performance of Apple’s smartphone chips over time, and found the iPhone CPU has improved by 384.9x since the original model launched in 2007.

The analysis used Geekbench data to track performance across generations, estimating an average annual improvement rate of around 40%.

Based on that trajectory, the next-generation iPhone 17 Pro, expected later in 2025, could push that figure past the 500x mark.

More performance-focused

The original iPhone, which Steve Jobs launched back in 2007, was powered by a ARM11-based SoC from Samsung. That chip had a rated frequency of 620MHz but it actually ran at just 412MHz.

For the iPhone 3GS, released two years later, Apple went for a Cortex-A8 core Samsung CPU (APL0298C05) marking the beginnings of more performance-focused chip design.

In 2013, Apple launched the iPhone 5s, which was the first smartphone to ship with a 64-bit processor, the Apple A7 (Cyclone). The move nudged Apple ahead of the rest of the mobile industry at the time.

Apple’s design philosophy has long focused on balancing power with efficiency. While Android chipmakers embraced eight- and ten-core designs, Apple has stuck with six-core layouts since 2017, typically featuring two high-performance cores and four efficiency cores.

Despite that, Apple consistently ranks at or near the top in both single-threaded and multi-core performance.

2024’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro continued that approach. The standard models use the A17 Bionic chip, built on a 3nm process, and scored over 8100 on PC Watch's Geekbench 6 testing. The Pro models use the A18 Bionic, which achieved scores above 8500 and feature core clocks exceeding 4GHz.

For comparison, the iPhone 13 Pro Max from 2021 scored about 5700 in the same benchmark. That translates to a 50% improvement over three years.

The performance increases achieved by the various generations of iPhone from 2007 onwards is clearly huge, but there are caveats to the methodology used for testing. It’s important to note that the numbers include estimated conversions for the older iPhones which predate modern benchmarks.

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Can anyone look at the Nothing Headphone 1 for the first time without cracking a smile? It was the talk of TechRadar's Sydney office when I unboxed it for the first time and has practically everyone else I've shown cooed over. And that's because it wears its best aspects on the outside.

The Nothing Headphone 1 is a breath of fresh air among otherwise well-tuned but very same-same headphones. I'm sure I'll have stirred some strong reactions with that statement, but hear me out, please.

I might be focused on covering smartphones at TechRadar (having just gone hands-on with the Nothing Phone 3), but it's still pretty obvious in my opinion that the overwhelming majority of over-ear headphones feature neutral, uninspired aesthetics, incorporating ovular cups and typically single-tone colorways without much style to speak of. Touch buttons are common, as are limited color options.

In protest, the Headphone 1’s cups are squared, with the exterior sporting an aesthetic evoking retro sci-fi hits like Blade Runner and Akira. A combination of metals and plastics have been employed to make the Headphone 1 feel unique wherever your fingers may land, and unlike the company's phones – which you'd be inclined to put in a case – the aesthetic of these headphones are on full display at all times.

And, best of all, there are no touch controls – a feature I’m growing increasingly tired of across all the tech that I review, from wearables to electric cars. This is the bit I’m most head over heels for, and when mixed with a fairly modest price point, I believe the Headphone 1 represents the best realization of Nothing’s vision yet.

The Nothing Headphone 1 is iconic and, by my estimation, it's the tech of the moment.

Nothing’s cooking

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

I don’t believe Nothing needs its headphones to offer the best sound quality among its close competition. Indeed as you would have read in our Nothing Headphone 1 review, sound can come across as compressed from these cans – but I’m smitten by all the aspects that the company aces to place too much weight on its soundscape – after all, sound is a personal preference.

Nothing’s distinctive aesthetic will no doubt weed out many potential customers, but as with Nothing’s phones, the style has its fans. This is exactly the kind of aesthetic that appeals to me, harking back to retro designs while also feeling fresh and unique in its own regard. It’s bold, different and to some extent underscores the design chops that companies like Apple were known for years ago (think the iMac G3).

And I could harp on about the aesthetics for an entire article, but I’ll save you the boredom by moving onto Nothing’s silver bullet – real buttons. The tech industry at large, so dedicated to efficiency and maximized savings, forgot that tactile buttons actually feel really great to use, and give the user much more confidence over their product (in that they’ll be better informed about what buttons have been pressed, ergo what functions are activated).

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

The volume is controlled by what Nothing calls the Roller, a horizontally moved cylinder on the edge of the headphones, which can also be pressed to pause, play, and switch between ANC and transparency (more on that later). It’s a button of all trades, in effect, and something rarely seen in the headphone industry these days. The Sonos Ace and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones have multi-function buttons, but I’m not aware of many sets that give one button so many functions.

Meanwhile, a ‘paddle’ below the Roller selects the next or previous track, while also offering answering and rejecting calls. An additional button to the top right of the right cup then activates your voice assistant on Android and iOS platforms, but can also be bound to several other functions on Nothing OS (or if you use a Nothing Phone). There's one more button on the inside of the right cup, but that's only used for Bluetooth pairing.

This just makes me so happy! So long and farewell to the annoyance of not activating a function like skip or pause because a touch control failed to notice the delicacy of your finger press.

Better yet, with most of the headphones’ exterior left without any buttons in the way, the headphones are showing off quite a lot of free space. On the one hand, that’s space I’m happy to leave exposed as they look great. On the other, I want to cover these bad boys in stickers, and that’s the kind of thought Nothing’s fun philosophy feeds into.

Wrapping up the things I really love about these headphones, the active noise cancellation is extremely impressive – on par with Sony headphones I've used in the past – and powerful enough to sufficiently remove the audio from a room with a live DJ standing right beside me. I like getting work done with noise cancellation turned all the way up, so this is super satisfying for me.

Nothing’s perfect

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

There are only a couple of things that I’m hoping Nothing will change with either software updates or upcoming product releases.

The first might seem kind of strange, but believe me when I tell you it’s unnerving. Nothing’s sound effects with the Headphone 1 are uncomfortable. Switching to transparency mode gives an effect that sounds like someone’s breathing in your ear, while other sound effects feel aggressive and way too tight – such as a bass thud when switching on noise cancellation, or a sci-fi computer beep when switching off ANC or transparency.

I get it, Nothing has a very deliberate approach to aesthetics and design, and that extends to its sound effects, but this is just too much – you can be unique without being weird.

Another is that the headphones are quite tight on my head – and I have a fairly average-sized head! After a while of use, the Headphone 1 starts to feel uncomfortable, so I’m hoping the company releases an upsized model or makes an adjustable band for the second-gen model.

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

There’s also obviously the issues reviewers have raised with sound. Indeed my Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones produce more balanced sound despite being a slightly older set of cans, with deeper bass and richer audio. For a pair of headphones as expensive as they are, you’d certainly expect the Headphone 1 to be up to scratch – especially as they’ve been tuned in collaboration with British hi-fi stalwart KEF.

Now, don't get me wrong: the sound is great and passable, but I’d certainly like it to be better. Unfortunately, while you’re given a decent amount of audio profile tweaking via the Nothing X app, you can’t make the headphones produce sound that just sounds more dynamic.

I would still encourage anyone who appreciates the design to audition the Headphone 1, of course, as what may not sound quite right for me may sound fantastic to you – as I've already alluded, sound is personal. Reviews can only provide so much information, if you like the sound a product produces, then that’s the right one for you.

Apart from that, I genuinely don’t think there’s anything else wrong with the Nothing Headphone 1: it’s well weighted, can go flatly compact and has some of the best ANC I’ve ever heard.

Nothing’s on the rise

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

Four years after releasing its first product, the Ear 1 earbuds in 2021, followed by a competitive portfolio of aesthetically interesting tech, Nothing has finally tipped its hand to reveal its most impressive product yet – a device that genuinely one-ups the competition with an exceptional user interface.

It’s really that simple. The Nothing Headphone 1 might not have the best sound quality of all the headphones on the market, but it’s certainly one of the most exciting options. The aesthetic rocks, it has a great feature set and ultimately it’s not priced inaccessibly (and chances are you might find it getting a good discount when Black Friday 2025 comes calling later in the year).

I’m really excited to see what a next-generation set of Headphones from Nothing shapes up to be like. For now, I think I’ll be using the Nothing Headphone 1 as my daily audio device instead of my Sonys or my Samsung buds, and that is saying something.

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Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 27.

• Sandisk enlists top computing minds to shape flash-based memory alternative for AI
• HBF memory backed by RISC and GPU leaders promises high bandwidth and massive capacity
• Patterson and Koduri join Sandisk to guide flash memory expansion beyond HBM limits

Sandisk has appointed two leading figures in computing to help shape the direction of its high-capacity memory tech for AI workloads.

Professor David Patterson and Raja Koduri have joined Sandisk’s new Technical Advisory Board to provide strategic and technical input on High Bandwidth Flash (HBF), a flash-based alternative to High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

Patterson is credited for co-developing Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) and Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID), and will lead the advisory board. Koduri is known for his leadership in graphics architecture, having overseen GPU designs at AMD and Intel.

Decades of experience

Together, they bring decades of experience across computing, memory systems, and large-scale architecture.

“We’re honored to have two distinguished computer architecture experts join our Technical Advisory Board,” said Alper Ilkbahar, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Sandisk.

“Their collective experience and strategic counsel will be instrumental in shaping HBF as the future memory standard for the AI industry, and affirming we not only meet but exceed the expectations of our customers and partners.”

Patterson said, “HBF shows the promise of playing an important role in datacenter AI by delivering unprecedented memory capacity at high bandwidth, enabling inference workloads to scale far beyond today’s constraints. It could drive down costs of new AI applications that are currently unaffordable.”

Koduri added, “HBF is set to revolutionize edge AI by equipping devices with memory capacity and bandwidth capabilities that will support sophisticated models running locally in real time. This advancement will unlock a new era of intelligent edge applications, fundamentally changing how and where AI inference is performed.”

HBF is designed to match the bandwidth of HBM while offering up to 8 times the capacity at a similar cost.

Built with BiCS flash, CBA wafer bonding, and proprietary stacking that allows 16 dies per package, HBF offers a new way to expand GPU memory without relying entirely on expensive DRAM.

While not a direct replacement for HBM, HBF shares the same electrical interface and only requires minimal protocol changes.

Sandisk previously demonstrated how an AI GPU using only HBM might support 192GB of memory, but by combining it with HBF, that figure could reach 3TB.

In a configuration using only HBF, memory capacity could scale up to 4TB.

The technology was first revealed at Sandisk’s Future FWD 2025 investor event back in February 2025, alongside its roadmap for future HBF generations.

These updates show increases in capacity and bandwidth over time, with some tradeoffs in energy efficiency.

By forming an advisory board and seeking open standard development, Sandisk is trying to avoid locking the market into proprietary solutions.

This may help it gain traction against rivals like Samsung and SK Hynix which are both heavily invested in the HBM space.

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• Dell’s $250 laptop beats its own entry-level desktop and rivals more expensive models
• The cheapest Dell desktop lacks Windows, while next options start at $599.99
• At under half the price, Dell's laptop offers full PC experience with modern specs

Desktops used to be the default for affordable computing, offering more power, easier upgrades, and better value.

Components can be swapped out, memory increased, and parts repaired when needed - which is much harder to do with laptops, which typically have elements like memory soldered in place.

But if you’re in the market for a budget PC, then you might not want to be considering a desktop -case in point, Dell is now offering a 15-inch laptop for just $250.

Far cheaper than a desktop

The Dell 15 laptop is currently $130 cheaper than its usual $379.99 asking price. That’s nearly half the price of Dell’s least expensive desktop, the $439 OptiPlex 3000 Thin Client. It’s not just about cost either.

The default laptop configuration comes with Windows 11 Home, an AMD Ryzen 3 7320U processor, 8GB of LPDDR5 memory, and a 512GB SSD. It also includes a 15.6-inch Full HD 120Hz screen, Wi-Fi, and ports for basic connectivity, including one USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, one USB 2.0 port, and a universal audio jack.

The OptiPlex desktop doesn’t run Windows, rather it uses Dell’s ThinOS, only has 64GB of onboard storage, and lacks Wi-Fi entirely.

It’s meant for narrow business environments, not general use, so for the average buyer, it’s hard to recommend unless they’re locked into a specific setup.

Looking beyond that, Dell’s next Windows-ready desktops start at $599.99. The Dell Slim Desktop includes a Core Ultra 5 processor, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and a 512GB SSD. It does offer more power but also costs more than twice as much as the laptop.

The Dell Tower Desktop at $749.99 bumps things up with a Core Ultra 7 chip, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. But again, that’s triple the price.

For most users, especially students, small business owners or casual users, those upgrades may not be needed anyway.

The $250 Dell 15 Laptop delivers a full experience that covers everything from web browsing to light productivity.

Desktops still make sense for users who need expansion or maximum performance of course, but on the low end, the gap is closing fast. In some cases, it may already be gone.

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Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 27, No. 307.

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• Bitdefender Security for Creators now monitors Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for unauthorized account changes or mass deletions
• Over 184 million login credentials are exposed, many tied to creator social media accounts
• Financial losses from online scams have crossed $1 trillion, with creators becoming prime targets

Influencers and digital creatives are increasingly targeted by phishing scams and account hijacking, and Bitdefender has revealed a new platform in order to address this threat.

The company says it is expanding its reach into the online creator economy with new updates to its Security for Creators suite, now offering coverage for Facebook and Instagram.

Bitdefender claims its new product offers creators a more focused and proactive form of protection, covering not only their content accounts but also their devices.

Rising threats underline the need for creator-focused security

Online scams and credential leaks are reportedly accelerating, with Bitdefender claiming over 184 million sets of login credentials were recently found exposed online, many linked to Instagram and Facebook.

At the same time, scam-driven financial losses have topped $1 trillion globally, according to recent data.

“Online creators are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals who weaponize trust to take over accounts and scam followers out of money or into downloading malware,” stated Ciprian Istrate, senior vice president of operations, Consumer Solutions Group at Bitdefender.

“Bitdefender Security for Creators offers the first end-to-end service to help safeguard creators’ accounts, content, and devices across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, delivering continuous, always-on security as online threats evolve.”

The continuous monitoring feature across the different social media platforms looks for signs of unauthorized activity, such as mass deletion of content or unapproved changes to profile settings.

Bitdefender says these signs can point to possible account takeovers, and that alerts are sent immediately if anomalies are detected.

Creators are also offered the ability to manage their account security, malware scans, and threat alerts from a unified control panel.

Regular antivirus scans mostly protects the device, and this all-in-one design could appeal to influencers juggling multiple platforms.

From a single dashboard, users can track device scans across different operating systems, with support for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.

Bitdefender places particular emphasis on its AI-based anti-phishing features, claiming they can detect scams disguised as partnership requests and even spot phishing content generated using large language models.

The company also introduces support for collaborative protection, allowing creators to extend coverage to team members like editors or social media managers.

In the event of a compromise, users are given a recovery playbook to restore account access and manage communications with their audience.

For Bitdefender, the expansion reflects an attempt to capture a market it describes as underserved.

Yet whether digital creators will adopt a dedicated service in place of existing Android antivirus apps or broader social media management tools remains the big question.

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Fortnite OG is running its first ever live event later today (July 26, 2025). It's a recreation of the rocket launch that happened all the way back in 2018, which culminated in the first appearance of the crack in the sky that has now become a mainstay of the game.

Fortnite OG Blast Off live event - key info on the rocket launch

Fortnite OG Blast Off live event start time
Fortnite OG Blast Off event duration
What to expect from the Blast Off live event
How to watch the Fortnite OG rocket launch event
Live coverage as it happens

Now that Fortnite OG is a permanent mode, we can look forward to a new Fortnite OG season launching in early August. Before then, there's the Blast Off event, as well as regular updates that add new weapons into the loot pool. So far, this season has really switched things up, and it's been a real treat to revisit Risky Reels and Dusty Divot. It's changes like these that have kept Fortnite well and truly cemented as one of the best free games to play in 2025.

Here's TechRadar Gaming's live coverage of the Fortnite OG rocket launch live event. I'll be detailing everything you need to know in the hours leading up to the event, as well as some details on what to expect. Once the rocket launch is live, I'll be giving my impressions as it unfolds. Stay tuned to see how this one compares to the 2018 original.

Fortnite OG Blast Off live event start time

(Image credit: Epic Games)

Fortnite OG's Blast Off live event will start on July 26 at 2pm ET / 11am PT / 7pm BST. You'll likely want to load into the game half an hour prior to the start, just to make sure you've secured a spot in the queue.

Fortnite OG Blast Off event duration

(Image credit: Epic Games)

The original rocket launch event in Fortnite only lasted a few minutes, but I'm betting things will be a bit different this time around.

We'll have to wait and see what tricks Epic has planned, but given that this is the first major live event for Fortnite OG, we could see a remix on the original event's pacing. If it's just the exact same sequence again, expect the live event to last around 5 minutes at most.

What to expect from the Blast Off live event

(Image credit: Epic Games)

So far, we don't know all that much about the upcoming Blast Off live event that'll take place on Saturday (July 26). If it ends up just being a repeat of the same event that aired back in 2018, then we'll see the rocket launch, before it's intercepted and steered through multiple rifts. The event will culminate in voice lines from The Visitor, and a huge rift crack will be left in the skies above the Fortnite OG island.

I'm hoping that Epic Games finds a way to remix the original event, adding a bit more player interaction and spectacle to proceedings. Fortnite events have gotten quite a bit more complex since 2018, so it'd be great to see a modern take on the classic rocket launch event.

Personally, I'd love to be a little closer to the action than before, perhaps following the rocket as it makes its way into space.

How to watch the Fortnite OG rocket launch event

From the darkest depths of space… pic.twitter.com/u6ygBDy8HuJuly 15, 2025

To watch the Fortnite OG rocket launch event, make sure to load into the game 30 minutes before the specified start time. Select Fortnite OG and wait for the event to start.

It's possible that there may be a separate playlist, which will go live prior to the event. Then, you just need to sit back and find a place to watch.

With the rocket launch, you'll be able to look up into the skies to see the rocket get intercepted. Last time, you were given a sort of floating drone view of things, so shouldn't have to worry about missing anything.

Live coverage as it happensLet's launch a rocket!

Mystery is on a collision course with danger.Strap in, the OG Rocket Launch Event is live today at 2 PM ET! pic.twitter.com/Hje3UD3DQkJuly 26, 2025

Hello and welcome to my live coverage of Fortnite OG's Blast Off event. I'll be giving my impressions as the event happens, detailing the event that starts in just over an hour.

Here's the key info

(Image credit: Epic Games)

Fortnite OG will air its first ever live event at 2pm ET / 11am PT / 7pm BST. It's a recreation of the rocket launch that happened back in 2018, and we should see the spacefaring craft get intercepted and thrown through multiple rifts.

How to watch the rocket launch

You'll be able to jump into Fortnite OG and watch the rocket launch live. Make sure you get in a little early, I'd recommend half an hour, just to make sure you get your place in the queue.

Blast Off event - Live Soon

(Image credit: Epic Games)

If you head into Fortnite OG now, you'll see a pop up message indicating that the Blast Off event will soon go live. We'll have to wait and see whether there's a separate playlist, or if the event will just naturally trigger during matches.

You can still play Fortnite OG while you wait

(Image credit: Epic Games)

Fortnite OG won't be experiencing any downtime around the rocket launch, so you can still hop in and play. We're currently on Season 4

Just 45 minutes to go!

(Image credit: Epic Games)

The Fortnite OG Blast Off event will begin in just 45 minutes. Make sure your game is updated to the latest version, and select a Fortnite OG playlist to get entry into a match once the show starts.

Fortnite original rocket launch

(Image credit: Epic Games)

The original rocket launch happened in Fortnite during Season 4. This was the season that ran in 2018, so it's been a while since players were able to witness the now iconic event.

Last time, the rocket launched, and players could watch it climb up high into the skies above the island. Then, a transmission from The Visitor played out, and the rocket was intercepted. The rocket travelled through multiple rift portals before leaving a huge crack in the sky.

20 minutes to go!

Rocket launch tailgate this weekend @ where? pic.twitter.com/2mLDQ3ippsJuly 23, 2025

Fortnite OG's Blast Off rocket launch will start in 20 minutes. I'll be jumping into a match 15 minutes beforehand to see if there's a safe zone of any kind. Stay tuned!

Matchmaking Error (#1)

(Image credit: Epic Games)

It seems Fortnite OG servers are currently overloaded, as players are being greeted with a Matchmaking Error (#1) message. Keep trying to load in, hopefully servers will be opened up closer to the event. I had the error previously, but got in eventually, so keep trying!

Damage has been turned off

It seems as if the storm circle and player damage have been turned off for the event. You won't have to worry about surviving long enough to see the rocket launch then.

Just 1 minute to go!

Get yourself a good view of the rocket launch. Sit back, and enjoy the show!

We have liftoff!

(Image credit: Epic Games)

The rocket has launched, and is now soaring up towards space. The Visitor can now be heard too.

The final rift is red this time around!

(Image credit: Epic Games)

It appears that the Blast Off event played out precisely as before, except for one key detail. The crack that appeared in the sky at the end is red this time, rather than blue. We'll have to see what this means, but it's clear that Epic Games has some tricks up its sleeves.

A red butterfly

Just before the rocket launch, I saw a red butterfly appear and circle around my character. This matches the color of the rift crack that appeared at the end of the event.

So, what's next?

(Image credit: Epic Games)

Fortnite OG Season 4 still lasts until August 8, 2025. If things follow the pattern of the original run, we'll start to see rifts appearing around the island, in the aftermath of the Blast Off event. These rifts will pull objects out of the island and replace them with objects from other worlds. This all leads into Season 5, which will have the theme of "Worlds Collide".

• LTO tape sets new capacity record with 176.5 exabytes shipped
• Compression inflates numbers masking real 70.6EB uncompressed data capacity
• LTO-10 costs rise threatening tape’s long-standing affordability advantage

The LTO Program, backed by HPE, IBM, and Quantum, has reported a new high in tape capacity shipments, with 176.5 Exabytes of LTO media shipped in 2024.

The announcement says this marks the fourth straight year of growth for the tape format, driven by expanding hybrid cloud strategies and the demands of AI and machine learning infrastructure.

The figure, though, comes with an asterisk. The 176.5EB is a compressed capacity total, not the raw figure. Based on the LTO program’s standard 2.5:1 compression ratio, the uncompressed total is closer to 70.6EB. That’s the actual amount of real data the tapes could hold if compression doesn’t apply.

Pricing hurdles

Since compression depends on data type - some files compress well, others like video or encrypted data barely at all - these numbers can be misleading in terms of practical storage delivered.

“Setting a new growth record for the fourth year in a row, LTO tape technology continues to prove its longevity as a leading enterprise storage solution,” said Bruno Hald, General Manager, Secondary Storage, Quantum.

“Organizations navigating their way through the AI/ML era need to reconfigure their storage architectures to keep up, and LTO tape technology is an essential piece of the puzzle for those seeking a cost-friendly, sustainable, and secure solution to support modern technology implementation and the resulting data growth. We look forward to introducing the next iteration of LTO tape technology this year to bring enhanced storage capabilities to the enterprise,” he added.

Those “cost-friendly” advantages are coming under pressure, however.

LTO-10, the latest generation of tape, carries a high price tag, with cartridges selling for between $275 and $315. That puts it just over 2x the cost per (native) terabyte compared to earlier versions, and while the capacity of LTO-10 is higher, the speed remains the same as LTO-9.

Phil Goodwin of IDC sees LTO as part of a broader strategy. “Tape’s unique combination of scalability, cost-efficiency, and cyber resilience makes it a valuable component for enterprises,” he said.

While tape still offers long-term value, especially as part of a tiered storage model, the price of LTO-10 may slow adoption.

For many businesses, spending hundreds per cartridge could be difficult to justify when lower-cost options like cloud cold storage continue to expand.

The LTO Program emphasizes tape’s offline resilience and low energy draw, but its strongest selling point has always been price.

At $315 for 30TB native storage, that’s a tougher story to tell.

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• Exascend 30.72TB PE4 SSD claims to avoid thermal throttling even at 70°C
• Uses predictive thermal algorithms to keep performance stable in hot, compact deployments
• Consumes just 7 watts when active and below 1.5 watts when idle

In a market dominated by Kioxia and Samsung, Exascend has introduced what it calls the industry's first 30.72TB SSD in a 7mm U.2 form factor.

The company appears to be targeting thermal-challenged deployments, such as edge servers and compact AI systems, where airflow is constrained and power budgets are tight.

Exasecnd says its new PE4 series maintains consistent throughput in ambient temperatures up to 70°C without suffering performance-hindering thermal throttling, an issue that typically plagues high-density storage solutions.

Specs positioned for the enterprise edge

This heat control is achieved through its proprietary Adaptive Thermal Control technology, which is supported by a mix of predictive algorithms, optimized controller layouts, and a casing designed for improved heat dissipation.

While the underlying approach seems to borrow from known principles of passive heat management, how well it performs in real-world data center deployments remains to be seen.

The PE4 drives use 3D TLC NAND and a PCIe Gen4 x4 interface, delivering up to 1 DWPD endurance and a 2-million-hour MTBF.

This rating is typical for enterprise drives of this class, but the long-term viability of such high-capacity SSDs in continuous-write environments will need verification.

On the security front, the drive offers AES-256 hardware encryption and TCG OPAL 2.0 compliance.

It also supports end-to-end data protection via LDPC and RAID-level parity.

The SSD uses hardware-based power-loss protection and support for field-upgradeable firmware, which makes it useful for edge deployments where physical access is limited.

“The PE4 30.72TB isn’t just an incremental step forward. It’s a paradigm shift for edge and on-premises storage,” said Frank Chen, CEO at Exascend.

“By delivering 30.72TB of storage in a 7mm slim form factor while cutting power consumption by 50%, we enable customers to scale storage density without overhauling existing thermal design or server layout.”

The PE4 power consumption is 7 watts when active and less than 1.5 watts when idle.

This is claimed to be 70 percent lower than what most other drives use.

It is not clear if this level of efficiency stays the same under mixed workloads, but if it does, it could help reduce cooling needs and make systems more energy efficient.

In addition to the 30.72TB model, Exascend also launched a 23.04TB version that retains the same 7mm form factor, thermal control features, and power efficiency, making it a more affordable option for deployments that don’t require maximum density.

“For customers that need a sweet spot between 15.36TB and 30.72TB, our new 23.04TB model delivers extra storage headroom at a more budget-friendly price point,” Chen added.

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